


Several Sides - Band AU

by VioletNight_9



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alcoholic Virgil, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Bassist Roman, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Drummer Logan, Everyone Is Gay, Guitarist Virgil, I'll type some links in the notes :), I'm trying, Janus and Roman have a history, Logan goes to therapy, Multi, Music, Nonbinary Dr. Emile Picani, Oops, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Singer Patton, Sleepovers, Slow Burn, Tags Are Hard, Tags May Change, auditions, everyone is oblivious, i didnt mean for it to be a slow burn though, i messed up when i wrote the tags-, i'm just mentally ill, i'm sorry that i never update this, low-key flirting, the only reason i'm not tagging elliot is because he doesn't talk, theres more on that later though :), they're actually alt but there isn't a tag for it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:46:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 15,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25306963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VioletNight_9/pseuds/VioletNight_9
Summary: Roman and Patton are in a band together and decide they need more people. What happens when only two people show up to the auditions? Better yet, what happens when they get in?~~~I'm bad at summaries but just trust me-(Requests are open on my Wattpad but I'll take some here as well!)
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil/Creativity | Roman/Logic | Logan/Morality | Patton, LAMP - Relationship, LAMP/CALM, Polysanders
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27





	1. Hello! :D

Hello and welcome to the Sanders Sides Band AU! I can't say that I'll post regularly with this, as I try to post 1-2 times a week, but sometimes I just can't find the inspiration. Either way, I really hope you enjoy and have fun while I figure out how to properly write this.

Requests are open currently on Wattpad and here for future chapters after I finish the main points, but I'll find a way to sneak things into your prompts to keep the story progressing.

Only rules with the prompts are:

 **1** \- I don't do smut

 **2** \- No plot-changing events (severe injury, severe illness, or anything that really effects the characters)

 **3** \- Try to keep stuff below what would be considered mature! I don't want to have to change the rating any higher then teen!

 **4** \- Please try to keep it 1-6 sentences. If it's more than that I can understand but please try to keep it open for interpretation

I already have a list of things that need to happen during the story so please feel free to request anything.

Anyway, please enjoy and remember to vote and comment! First chapter will be out in just a moment. Have a great day/afternoon/night! Stay safe out there!


	2. Community Board (Ch.1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Cursing, Food Mention, Brief Yelling  
> ~~~  
> I hope you guys enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song For Chapter:  
> https://youtu.be/slgEYXJ1sZQ  
> Coffee - Jack Stauber (Extended Fan Edit)

Roman groaned, pausing his strumming on his bass. Patton looked up at him from his laptop confused. Roman stood up from his stool where he had been sitting to record and put his bass down, walking to where Patton was sitting on the couch.

“What’s wrong Ro?” Patton asked, shifting in his seat for Roman to sit next to him. Roman flopped down, turning to lay his legs on the arm of the couch. Patton lifted his laptop and Roman put his head in his lap. Patton rolled his eyes and put the laptop on the other arm. 

“We need more members. Writing the songs alone and playing all the parts at once is  _ so _ fuckin annoying.” Roman whined. Patton looked away from his screen for a moment and smiled down at Roman. 

“Well if you want to make a post and put it in a local Starbucks or something,” Patton looked back up at his laptop, “I’m not making it though, I’m already editing our new song.” Roman shot up excitedly and turned around and propped his head up with his hands.

“Really?! I can make it?!” Roman asked, stars in his eyes. Patton laughed a bit and nodded.

“Just don’t spend our budget okay kiddo? We don’t need a repeat of the splurge of 1/26,” Patton laughed out, typing into the laptop and dragging the pitch on the screen, pressing play and cringing at the off-key sound, “Can you put on the poster that we need someone good with music programming?”

Roman nodded and rolled off the couch and onto their garage floor before standing up and rushing to the table in the corner of the room. He snatched his keys up and lifted up the garage door. 

“Where are you going?” Patton asked, a click then a pleasant harmony leaving the speakers in the room, making him let out a small victory laugh.

“I’m gonna go get a few supplies from Michael's! I’ll try to stay on budget, promise!” Roman shouted from the other side of the door, over the music in the room. Patton looked away from the screen quickly.

“Oh! And keep it under thirty-” Roman closed the door of the garage and ran to start his car, “-dollars… welp, time to work overtime this week.” Patton smiled at the door and shook his head fondly, looking back at his laptop.

**_*~*_ **

“Aaaaaaaaand, DONE!” Roman cheered, putting down his maker and holding up the poster he had made. Patton looked over from his coffee cup and smiled at the poster. 

“It looks really nice! Do you wanna go put that up now so that people can see it tomorrow or do you want me to go put it up on my way to work?” Roman turned around and looked at Patton with a small smile. 

“Can we go put it up now and get some coffee or something?” Roman asked, standing up, carefully holding the poster. Patton nodded and poured the coffee he’d made down the sink.

“Sure, the coffee was bad anyway.” Roman gasped in offense, putting his free hand on his chest.

“ _ I  _ made that coffee!” Patton smirked and washed out his mug.

“I know.” 

“ _ Rude. _ I’m gonna go start the car, be out in three or I’m leaving without you.”

“No you won’t!” Patton teased, putting his cup to the side and washing his hands. Roman rolled his eyes and opened the garage, leaving it open for Patton as he jogged across the parking lot to his car.

**_*~*_ **

Virgil walked into the Starbucks, groaning as he looked over at a lady who was arguing with the barista at the drink pickup. He walked quietly over to the register and stood, waiting for the lady to stop fighting. She didn’t. Virgil groaned loudly and looked over to the woman.

“Oh my god shut up about your fucking chia mocha frap not having enough fucking half and half. Just go over to the bar and add in more until you’re satisfied, christ have mercy,” Virgil snapped, hissing out his words before looking back to the menu- even though he had his order memorized already. The lady gasped in offence and took her drink, charging out of the door. The barista looked over to Virgil thankfully and walked over with a smile. 

“Thanks man, what can I get you?” She asked, leaning against the counter. Virgil smiled shyly back.

“No problem, can I get a grande latte, cafe blonde? The name is Virgil,” Virgil asked, fiddling with the sleeves on his jacket. The lady smiled at him and picked up a cup writing his order on the side. Virgil got out his wallet to pay as she was writing. 

“Oh no, this is on the house.” The lady said, noticing Virgil shuffling with his wallet. Virgil paused and looked up from his hands.

“What? Nonono it’s okay, I can pay,” Virgil tried to reason. The lady smiled and shook her head. Virgil paused for a moment then smiled a bit and nodded.

“Well, thank you a lot. I hope you have a great day ma’am. Don’t let that lady get you down.” Virgil said, slowly walking away. The barista chuckled and walked away with a small “you too.” As the lady was walking away Virgil slinked back and slipped a five dollar bill into the tip jar. 

Virgil wandered over to the bar and grabbed a few napkins, looking up at the calendar written, a poster catching his eye on the community board. He looked at it quizzically and shifted his attention to it. 

_ JOIN A BAND! _

_ Several Sides is looking for new band members!  _

_ We need a guitarist, a drummer, and possibly a backup singer! _

_ If you also have music programming skills, please stop by! _

_ The try-out date is 5/11 at 2:00pm. _

**_Bring your own instrument please!_ **

_ Check out our instagram for more information, and check out our soundcloud _

Below the words was their instagram and soundcloud username in lovely cursive and an address. Virgil thought for a second before taking out his phone and snagging a picture.  _ He’d been meaning to play his guitar more often. _

“Virgil! Your drink is ready!”

**_*~*_ **

Logan yawned and walked up to the front counter of Starbucks. The guy at the register looked up from his phone and put it in his pocket, plastering on a fake smile.   
“Hello sir, what can I get you today?” He asked, standing up straight. Logan looked up at the menu and wiped his eyes a bit. 

“Can I get a grande misto?” Logan asked, looking into the pastry window, “And a breakfast croissant please?” The guy nodded, writing on a cup.

“And what’s the name?” 

“Logan.”

“I’ll get that right out for you. Could you pay while I get that croissant heated up for you?” Logan nodded and took out his card, swiping it and clicking a few buttons to finish the transaction. He waited for the guy to return and press a few buttons before muttering a small thank you, walking over to a table in the corner, putting down his bag then walking over to the bar, grabbing a handful of napkins and picking up a sugar packet.

He looked up at the community board to see if they had any internship opportunities or any community events he should look out for, as per his routine. His eyes landed on a poster and he blinked a few times to process the bright red and light blues on it.

_ Several Sides huh? _ Logan thought, reagusting his glasses a big and taking out his phone again to take a quick photo of the poster.  _ I might just try out. Drumming and music might be a nice extracurricular. _


	3. Virgil's Audition (Ch.2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Cursing, Very Mild Anxiety, Brief Unprovoked Yell, Character Momentarily Overwhelmed  
> Song:  
> https://youtu.be/E0ELg_rjIlQ  
> Behind Blue Eyes (acoustic Who cover) - Mike Massé

Patton tapped his pen against the cheap material of the fold-able table he and Roman were sitting at. Roman looked a bit nervous, glancing around the small street in front of them which was empty aside from a couple who was unloading groceries. Roman let out a frustrated yell and threw his head back.

“It’s been thirty minuets and no one has shown, maybe we should just make a craigslist-” Roman started, only to get cut off by a guy hauling ass to their table with a guitar case. Paton sat up straight and Roman looked forward to access the dude.

“Hi, I’m so sorry I’m late! I couldn’t get time off and my work is like two hours away.” The guy said, walking up to the table and looking between Roman and Patton. He wore black ripped jeans, black combat boots, and an open hoodie with sewn purple patches. The shirt underneath was a Nightmare Before Christmas illustration that Roman was very interested in. 

“Hello! Thanks for coming, it’s no problem that you’re late. I’m Patton and this is Roman,” Roman waved, “What’s your name and what do you play?” Patton asked, fixing the collar of his shirt. 

“The name is Virgil, I play guitar.” Virgil said, putting down his case and taking out a gray guitar with stickers on it.

“Sweet! What song are you playing?” Roman asked, leaning forward on his elbows. Virgil strummed his guitar to make sure it was tuned. Virgil started to play a few notes, strumming a repeating melody.

“I don’t know, what are you looking for? Rock, pop, something slow? Throw out a genre, and I’ll improvise,” Virgil tuned the guitar back and looked back up. Roman looked to Patton and Patton looked back. They had a short silent conversation. Virgil shifted from foot to foot waiting for a response and looked down at the floor.

“Could you do a slow pop song? Maybe a little pop rock? It can be original or something already written, whichever you want.” Patton hummed, leaning forward. 

Virgil nodded and coughed a bit and started strumming, adjusting his machine heads to reach the right chord. He took in a deep breath, Patton and Roman instinctively leaning forward to hear the soft strumming.

Virgil started to play the opening notes to _‘Behind Blue Eyes’_ ’, humming the lyrics as quietly as he could as the volume of the guitar rose gradually and his confidence rose. Roman looked at Virgil, impressed by the delicate manner that he was strumming. Patton watched his fingers glide carefully across the strings. Quickly, as fast as the song came, it faded quietly out, leaving them in silence. 

Virgil looked up slowly from his guitar and anxiously looked up to where Patton and Roman were looking at him starry-eyed. Virgil smiled awkwardly and held his guitar on his side. 

“It wasn't pop but uh, did I get a callback?” Virgil asked. Roman shot up excitedly and smiled.

“You’re in!”

“What?” Virgil asked, speechless. Patton nodded excitedly and picked up a piece of paper, extending it out to Virgil who took it with wide eyes. 

“I- Wow, okay, sweet. Sorry if my reaction isn’t uh, _there_ , I’m just a bit overwhelmed, sorry,” Virgil said laughing and putting down his guitar to run his hand through his hair. Patton's smile softened a bit and he leaned over to Roman.

“Can you go get them a cup of water?” Patton asked, standing up and walking over to Virgil, who was at this point on the floor putting away his guitar; even though he was totally using it as an excuse to sit down.

“Hey are you okay? I know you're kinda overwhelmed,” Patton said, kneeling next to Virgil. Virgil nodded and looked up with a smile. Patton looked at his guitar and admired it up close. “Your guitar is really pretty.”

Virgil smiled and nodded a thank you. Roman walked over with a cup of water and knelt down in front of Virgil, offering it to him. Virgil carefully took the cup and slowly it drank it. 

“So, do you want to stay here and work stuff out for your part in the band, or take the paper home?” Roman asked, sitting down and tapping lightly on the road below.

“Could I just stay here and fill it out? I might get confused and mess it up,” Virgil laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. Patton and Roman nodded and stood up, helping Virgil stand up as well.

“I'll go get you a chair.” Patton said, walking away while Roman and Virgil started talking about Virgil's shirt. 

Another guy walked up with a backpack, his shoes stomping slightly on the ground.

“Hello, I'd like to try out for the _Several Sides_ band, if I'm not too late.”


	4. Logan's Audition (Ch.3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Cursing, Food Mention, Alcohol Mention   
> Song:  
> https://youtu.be/3z7yS5h72ns  
> Numb - Linkin Park - Drum Cover

“Hello, I’d like to try out for the  _ Several Sides _ band, if I’m not too late.” The stranger asked, taking a pair of drumsticks from a pocket on the side of his backpack. 

“Oh! Of course, of course! Just give us a moment, the drums are inside the garage if that’s alright.” Patton said from inside the garage, carrying a lawn chair. Roman gestured for Logan and Virgil to follow him. Logan looked to Virgil who looked back at him and shrugged with a smile, walking over to Roman.

“I’m Roman, this is,” Roman moved his hand toward Virgil who smiled awkwardly.

“I’m Virgil,” Virgil extended his hand to Logan who shook it in return.

“Logan.”

“Well now that most of us-  _ Patton _ \- have introduced ourselves. I wish you good luck.”

Patton put down the chair and Roman snagged the ones from the table, dragging them over to the space in front of the drumset. Logan shuffled in slightly awkwardly, having to bend down to get under the garage door. 

“I’m going to have to adjust the seat if that’s alright with you,” Logan said, taking off his backpack and clacking his drumsticks together.

“Feel free, Roman’s the only one that really uses the drums.” Patton said. Virgil chuckled and looked at Roman.

“What?” Roman asked.

“You’re so short.”

“You’re shorter than me!”

“And?” 

“Hey, hey, it’s literally been less than an hour since Virgil has joined, stop,” Patton tutted, rolling his eyes as Virgil and Roman started laughing; even Logan chuckled a bit.

**_*~*_ **

After a few minutes and some casual conversation, Logan had finally finished setting up. He had to move the seat quite a bit but no one minded. 

Virgil had taken out his guitar a second time during the break and tuned his guitar a bit saying “I'm going over to my friend’s place and I'm teaching his son how to play.” Patton thought that was sweet.

Logan had thumped the foot pedal down a bit, adjusting it and confusing Roman in the process.

“Why'd you change the position?”

“You had it too far away to actually hit the drum.”

“What?!” Roman exclaimed, earning a small chuckle from the rest of the boys. Logan made a few more comments on how the drumset was set up, shocking Roman with the fact that he completely messed up placing a drum. Patton had to put them back on track.

“Okay so, Logan, what're you gonna play?” Patton asked, holding a clipboard and pencil. Roman cracked a small joke to him about Patton looking like an inspector; Patton elbowed him.

“I actually wanted to know if you wanted a specific song. I do have a song picked if you don't have a preference,” Logan offered, gesturing his sticks to the group in front of him. Roman looked to Virgil.

“You're new, why don't you choose something? You don't have to though, of course.” Roman said, quickly backpedaling when Patton kicked his foot slightly.

“Oh uh, sure. Um, do you know  _ Numb _ by Linkin Park?” Virgil asked, looking Logan in the eye. Logan nodded and thought for a moment, rolling up his sleeves.

“Yes I do believe I know that one. Just give me a moment, it's been a while.” Logan tapped the drumsticks against the different drums and closed his eyes taking a deep breath. Roman and Patton leaned forward to listen to him play; Virgil backed up a bit.

The opening drums were loud, making Roman and Patton flinch back. Virgil watched, impressed as Logan rocked out, as if he was listening to the song in his own head. Roman looked at Patton, who looked at Virgil. Virgil was singing the words under his breath and nodding his head along to the beat. 

Logan opened his eyes at a pause and locked them with Virgil, then smirked before getting right back into it. Logan hit the crash one last time with a smile on his face, his sleeves rolling down slightly. Virgil paused and slowly nodded, clapping quietly. Roman and Patton joined in clapping and Patton looked at Roman. 

“In?” Patton asked.

“In.” Roman looked to Logan with a smile. “Oh yeah, you’re in.”

Logan smiled and panted a bit, leaning his elbows on his knees. Roman stood up and got Logan some water, handing the cup to him quickly.

“Sorry, I’m just… It’s been a bit. I forgot how enjoyable that was,” Logan laughed out.

“Well for someone that hasn’t played for a bit, that was  _ really _ good,” Virgil commented. Patton wrote down a few things onto his clipboard. Roman, Logan, and Virgil started chatting idly, Patton joining in a few minutes later.

“Do you maybe want to go grab some drinks?”


	5. Feeling Tipsy (Ch.4)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Alcohol, Food Mention, Drunk Character(s), Cursing, Brief Financial Discussion, Implied Alcoholism  
> Song:  
> https://youtu.be/GAOxJv96VE8  
> Freeze Your Brain - Heathers: The Musical +LYRICS

Roman pulled up to the local bar, parking in the nearest spot to the entrance as he could. He and Patton unbuckled their seat belts and got out of the car quickly, meeting up with Logan and Virgil who were standing at the entrance, talking about the band they had just joined.

“I didn’t really expect to even get in. I listened to their music a bit before actually deciding to show but I thought they had way more people,” Virgil rambled, Logan nodding along.

“I mainly tried out for the sake of seeing if I could make it. This could be a fun experience I hope.” Logan hummed. Patton dashed ahead of Roman and stopped in front of the two, quickly joining their conversation. Roman smiled.  _ I’m glad we’re getting along. _

**_*~*_ **

“So what do you all do for a living?” Roman asked, sipping his drink.

“I do office work and intern occasionally. I also do a bit of community service and such.” Logan said, spinning his drink around, listening to the ice clink against the glass. Virgil let out an interested hum and took a long gulp of his ‘mix drink’ was honestly mostly alcohol. 

“Damn, you got your hands full don’t you?” Virgil asked, tapping his feet against the bar stool. Roman looked at Virgil expectantly. “What? Is it my turn to talk,  _ teacher _ ?” Virgil teased. Patton shook his head a bit.

“How about I go next. I do secretary work and volunteer at PetSmart,” Patton said,happily swinging his legs. Logan looked at Patton impressed. “I’m a little ditsy looking though so many places won’t hire me,” Patton laughed a bit before sipping at his drink quickly.

“Well there’s always more than what meets the eye,” Logan commented, smiling at Patton. Roman looked at Virgil again, who groaned before rolling his eyes with a small smile.

“Don’t make fun of me, okay?” Virgil asked, taking another drink.

“I won’t.” Roman said

“Promise?”

“ _ Yes _ .”

“Fine, okay. I work at HotTopic,” Virgil said, closing his eyes for the inevitable. Patton stared into Roman’s soul as Roman tried not to laugh. 

“That’s really cool!” Patton said. Logan looked to Virgil slightly concerned.

“How much are you paid?” Logan asked. Virgil shrugged.

“Enough to get by. Paycheck to paycheck ya’ know? It’s not really uncommon though and I at least get tips playing some music.” Roman frowned but nodded in understanding. 

“ _ Well, _ I work at the Disney store at the mall,” Roman proclaimed proudly, earning a loud laugh from Virgil and a restrained chuckle from Logan. “What?”

“So you sing, play bass, and are a part-time prince? Wow okay, let- let me guess, you act as well in the local theater program?” Virgil joked, cutting himself off several times to giggle.

“ _ Actually _ , I  _ do _ in fact do theater. I got the roll of the beast last show.” Roman snarked, no real bite behind the small jab.

“Okay, okay, touché princey, touché,” Virgil surrendered, finishing his drink and ordering another one. For the next twenty minutes they talked about random things, Virgil finished most of his second drink, Patton went on a rant about animals, Roman and Virgil argued passively about Disney, Logan rambled about space. It was all very nice. Then Virgil finished his drink. And then another. And then another. 

“Virgil, babe, I’m not gonna keep giving you drinks man. I  _ know _ what’s happening,” The bartender said, confusing the other three and making Virgil groan loudly before doing a 180 on his mood and putting his head on the bar, starting to giggle uncontrollably. 

“You’re silly Renny, I’m  _ fine _ . Can I  _ please _ get another one?” The bartender sighed and looked at Patton, Logan, and Roman.

“I’m Remy, a friend of Virgil’s. If you want, I’m getting off shift in about five minutes. I’ll take him home if you want to dip or just don’t want to uh, deal with him. Nothing against him, he’s just,” Remy looked at Virgil who was laying his head on the bar with his eyes closed, probably very close to sleeping. Logan looked to the others and nodded, taking out a pen and paper. 

“Write your contact info on here for Virgil to find later. He’ll need to know how to contact us,” Logan explained, writing his info down before passing the notepad to Patton. Each of them wrote down their info and handed the paper to Remy who took it and put it in his back pocket. 

“I hope you guys have a nice night, I also hope that Vee here didn’t cause a ruckus,” Remy said, rolling his eyes. Patton put his hands up and smiled, shaking his head.

“No, no, he was a pleasure! Could you tell him we’re sorry for ditching him tomorrow?” Patton asked, Roman nodding.

“Of course. Are you gonna keep drinking or should I get you your bill?” Remy asked, shaking a drink for another patron. Logan nodded, but Roman was the first to speak.

“I’ll pay for us-”

“With our budget?” Patton teased.

“Oh hush.” Logan fought back a smirk at them and looked back to Virgil who had fallen completely asleep.


	6. Hangover (Ch.5)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW:Hangover (duh), Headaches, Implied Alcoholism, Brief Crying Mention  
> Song:  
> https://youtu.be/qqk91J9e2rw  
> icarly - the joke is on you

Virgil woke up in a familiar living room with a buzzing headache. He groaned, annoyed by the bright light coming through the curtains. He slowly sat up and winced at the violent pang of a hangover in the back of his head.

“Fuck…” Virgil groaned. A head poked out of the door frame in front of him. Emile.

“Oh hey there Virgil! How are you doing? I heard you drank pretty hard last night,” They said, stepping on and walking slowly over to Virgil. Virgil shrugged before slowly nodding. “Remy told me to give this to you before he left for his gig.” Emile took a folded up piece of paper out of their pocket, handing it to Virgil who took it begrudgingly, muttering a thanks before squinting at the paper. 

Contact info.  _ Of course _ , Virgil wanted to hit himself. He was in a  _ band _ now, and he embarrassed himself within the first- what? Three hours?  _ Dumb ass _ , he thought to himself. Emile frowned at him and pushed him lightly.

“Hey! Stop thinking like that!” Emile whined. Virgil laughed, looking up at them. “I swear I can hear you thinking, and it’s fine. Based on what Rem told me, they were more worried than judgemental.” Virgil took a deep breath and took his half-dead phone out of his pocket, checking the time.

“Can you drive me to the bar so that I can get my car and head to work?” Virgil asked, rubbing his eyes. Emile laughed a bit and put their hand on Virgil’s chest. 

“Take a shower first then get some breakfast okay? You aren’t gonna be late,” Emile reassured. Virgil looked up at them with a conflicted expression before slowly nodding and standing up. 

“Sure, do you want to go grab coffee or something when I’m done? I’ll pay,” Virgil offered, steadying himself before starting to walk away. Emile shook their head, walking back to the kitchen.

“I’ll make us some honey lavender tea, it’ll be done by the time you’re out.”

“Okay! Thanks Emmi.”

**_*~*_ **

Roman was texting with Patton when he got a discord notification. He didn’t recognize the username, but answered anyway.  _ It’s probably Virgil _ .

_ AnxiousNightmare _

_ hey sorry about last night, if you and patton are still okay with me being in the band, can i know when our first rehearsal is and where? sorry again _

Roman smiled at his phone and quickly typed a response. Patton messaged him while he was typing and he made a mental note to respond later. 

_ Judge Judy _

_ youre fine man, its okay we didnt mind  _

_ the first rehearsal is gonna be 4/23 at around 5:30pm if thats a good time for you _

_ AnxiousNightmare _

_ okay, that’s a good time im guessing the same garage as auditions? _

_ Judge Judy _

_ yep _

_ hope to see you there _

_ AnxiousNightmare _

_ yeah _

_ ill see you around _

_ Judge Judy _

_ oh yeah and if you have one, bring a guitar that can be plugged into speakers, acoustic is gonna be too quiet. _

_ if you don't have one we have an older one i used to record with _

Roman clicked out of discord and opened up a game until his alarm went off. He sighed and closed his phone, putting it in his pocket and fixing his vest. He washed his hands and took a deep breath before opening the break room door with a plastered on smile. 

“Hey Roman! Can you come over here and help me crown the newest princess?” One of Roman’s co-workers called over. Roman internally groaned but smiled and agreed.  _ If I have to sing this song one more time, I’m going to kill someone, _ Roman thought to himself before walking over and singing the first few notes.  _ This is what I get for working at an obscure store. _

**_*~*_ **

Patton looked up from his phone and smiled as the double doors in front of him opened. He pushed a strand of hair behind his ear and turned his chair slightly to face the man who walked in.

“Hello, how can I- Logan?”

“Oh hello there Patton, how are you doing today?” Logan asked, putting down his briefcase and waving at Patton.

“I’m doing okay, today has been pretty slow. How about you?” Patton put his arms on the desk in front of him and smiled. Logan shrugged.

“I’m doing fine, just very busy today,” Logan shrugged, “I have an appointment with Dr. Picani.” Patton sat up straight again and smiled nervously.

“Oh yeah, I’ll uh, give them a call,” Patton laughed a bit to fill the silence. Logan picked up his suitcase and went to sit down, pulling his phone out of his pocket to turn off the alarm on his phone that had gone off. The room was fairly quiet, a few people leaving, a couple coming in. A few minutes later, a teen walked out of the hallway, listening to someone on the phone.

“Have a great rest of your day Elliott!” Patton commented from his desk, looking up from his computer for a moment to send a reassuring smile to them. Elliott looked over at Patton with slightly teary eyes and nodded a goodbye with a watery smile before walking out of the building. Logan raised an eyebrow before deciding it was none of his business and went back to reading on his phone.

“Logan Krause?” A soft voice called from the hallway. Logan looked up from his phone and sent a small nod to the person who he recognized as Emile. Logan stood up and picked up his briefcase once again, walking with Emile to their office; he sent a small smile to Patton before he left. 

Patton let out another small sigh and leaned his head against his hand while typing with the other. The squeak of the door captured his attention and he quickly smiled up at another regular.

“Hello Remy, Emile just took in another patient, you can go hang out in the staff room until they’re done, okay?”


	7. Set Up And A Punchline (Ch.6)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Brief Non-verbal Episode, Brief Therapy Session, Anxiety, Arrest Illusion (Said In Context Of A Joke), Brief Minor Injury  
> Song:  
> https://youtu.be/WtROijZqCb8  
> A Great Big World - Rockstar (audio)

“So what do you want to talk about today Logan?” Picani asked when finally settled in their chair. Logan squirmed a bit and shrugged his shoulders, his face showing a semi-trained emotionless expression. Emile frowned a bit and sat up straight.

“Well, have you gotten better with your emotions?” Logan shrugged.

“Have you been practicing what we discussed last time?” Logan tilted his hand from side to side.

“Are you anxious right now?” Logan nodded. Picani smiled and wrote a note down, thanking Logan for his honesty.

“Well then how about I give you a piece of paper and we can go through this non-verbally until you’re ready?” Logan nodded quickly and looked up from his hands, smiling just a little. Picani passed a paper over the table in front of them and a small pack of pens; though they already knew what pen Logan was going to pick.

Logan took out a dark blue pen and clicked it, bending over and starting to write on the paper in front of him.

_ Recent events that may have triggered my anxiety- _

  * _I joined a small band_
  * _My work has a sudden rush of tasks_
  * _The season (though unlikely)_



Emile smiled as the paper was turned to them to read and nodded along to what he was reading, praising Logan under their breath for being able to identify possible reasons. They clicked their own pink pen and started writing back.

_ Do you want to talk about a particular topic? _

They turned the paper, Logan wrote back, the paper was turned again. About two full sheets of paper later and they finally switched to verbal. 

“So you play the drums?”

**_*~*Timeskip to 4/23; the time and date of rehearsal*~*_ **

**_*~*Quick message from the author! Logan was informed separately of the rehearsal by Patton on his way out of Emile's office! Just a clarification!*~*_ **

Virgil tapped his foot impatiently against the asphalt of the street and looked down at his phone. He was early.  _ Very _ early in fact. As much as he didn’t want to look like a creep, he  _ also  _ didn’t want to be late. So, he made the brilliant plan of sitting next to the garage door and playing word crush on his phone.

Not so brilliantly he had shown up fifteen minutes before practice. On the bright side Logan showed up three minutes early so he’d call that a win. Logan and Virgil talked for a bit before by the door until Patton and Roman came walking out of the apartments in front.

“Oh dear! How long have you two been waiting out here?!” Patton asked, rushing over to open the door, ignoring the looks he was getting from some neighbors for his outfit; which was a light blue crop top and white high-waisted jeans that Logan thought must be uncomfortable, but Patton looked nice in it.

“Just a few minutes, that’s all. No harm done.” Logan assured him while Virgil said hello to Roman. Virgil lifted up his guitar case and Roman gave him a thumbs up and a smile. 

“So how was your week?” Patton asked, lifting up the door and clicking the lock into place. Logan shrugged and spun one of his drumsticks around his fingers. 

“It was pretty smooth. Nothing too interesting besides of course this. How about your week?” Logan asked, leaning down a little bit as to not hit the top of his head on the door, which he heard Roman do right behind him prompting loud laughter from Virgil.

“It was actually pretty good! I got a raise at work and a few dogs at the shelter got adopted.” Patton said cheerily, flicking a light switch on and lighting up the garage. 

Roman and Virgil across the room plugged in the speakers and grabbed their instruments, arguing passively about which internment was better. Patton smiled at Roman and picked up his laptop, turning it on and booting up recording software. Logan looked over Patton's shoulder, stopping the movement of his drumstick trying to read the screen.

“What software do you use?” Logan asked, Patton jumping slightly before looking behind him with a small embarrassed smile. 

“We just use the video editor saved on the computer and import the sound separately.” Patton explained. Logan scoffed slightly and asked for the laptop. Patton handed it to him with a raised eyebrow.

“I'm about to make your job so much easier,” Logan explained, opening Patton's browser and searching up software. Patton just stood behind Logan curiously watching as he downloaded a software he had never heard of before.

**_*~*_ **

Virgil laughed hysterically as the top of Roman's head smacked the garage door, himself slightly happy that he was shorter than Roman. Roman groaned and looked at Virgil with a playful glare.

“Let's go plug in the speakers, it wouldn't be very fun without sound,” Roman joked, Virgil smiled and nodded, following Roman to the speakers. 

“Were you okay after the bar? Patton and I were worried,” Roman asked, picking up a few wires and plugging them into their respective positions. Virgil picked up some wires and started to plug them in.

“Yeah, I just had a hangover. Sorry again about the bar, I'll try to make sure it doesn't happen again,” Virgil paused, thinking before picking up another wire, “I can't promise anything though.” Roman nodded and stood up, picking up the plug and kneeling by a power bar on the floor. 

“I get it, also sometimes the speakers make a noise when they start up so you might want to back up a little.” Roman advised, waiting for Virgil to back up before plugging the speakers in, jumping when a short but loud pop echoed around the room before it quieted. Virgil chuckled a bit and picked up his case, opening it and taking out a less than fancy electric guitar with more than a few scratches in the paint.

“Nice! I have a cable over here, plug it in so you can tune,” Roman thrusted a cable towards Virgil with took it and plugged it in, muttering a thank you before taking out his phone and opening his usual tuning app.

“Hey hey! Look here for a sec!” Roman turned to where Patton was urging the room to look. Logan was on the drums, holding his sticks on his lap, shaking his head slightly and chuckling under his breath.

“Why was the musician arrested?” Patton giggled out. Roman groaned quietly when he realized what was going on, Virgil just smirked.

“Because he was in  _ treble _ !” Patton said excitedly before turning to look at Logan, who sighed fondly and raised his drumsticks.  _ Bu-dum tsss. _

Virgil chuckled quietly and turned away, running a hand through his hair to hide his dorky smile. Roman groaned but laughed at Logan who was holding his head in his hands, trying to hold back his own laughter. Patton looked around, proud of himself before stepping away. 

“Let's finish setting up, then we'll start with a song that we all know.” Patton suggested, getting a nod from everyone in the room as they composed themselves. 


	8. Practice Makes Perfect (Ch.7)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Yelling, Loud Noises  
> Song:  
> https://youtu.be/aU5aDqLUvug  
> Hit Me With Your Best Shot (Remastered)

“Do you know uh…” Patton paused to think, messing with the wire of his mic with his free hand, “ _ Hit Me With Your Best Shot _ ? Pat Benatar? Maybe  _ Twist and Shout _ by The Beatles?” Virgil was the first to speak up.

“I’m up for  _ Hit Me With Your Best Shot. _ It's up to you guys though.” Logan nodded as his confirmation and Roman excitedly shouted yes, making Virgil and Logan jump a bit.

“Okay uh, before we actually start are you all situated?” Patton asked one last time. Virgil nodded and adjusted his hold on his guitar, as did Roman. Logan spun his sticks and tested the foot pedals a few times before sending a thumbs up. “Sweet! Logan, if you could count down and maybe drum the beat for a second before playing, that would be really nice.” Logan sent a smile and nod to Patton before lightly hitting the beater for a few seconds in beat with the song.

“After one. Three, two, one,” Logan hit the drums loudly, Virgil and Roman following close after with guitar and bass. Patton smiled at them and turned around to the open door, closing his eyes to count the bars.  _ One, one, one, now! _

“ _ You’re a real tough cookie with a long history _ ,” Patton sang out, getting an eyebrow raise from Logan and a small cheer from Roman. As the chorus came on, Roman joined Patton's voice as a backup, earning a small smile from both Logan and Virgil. Patton continued to sing before Virgil had a short guitar solo.

Virgil stuck his tongue out, focusing on moving his fingers in the right pattern more than the room around him. Roman himself was focusing on being loud enough to be heard below the guitar, but he found it quite hard when he was stunned by the accuracy of Virgil's playing. Logan smiled at Virgil and looked at Patton who was beaming.

Patton turned back as Virgil's solo came to a close and started singing again, this time noticing a small group of people stopped outside of their car listening to the four of them play. One person had their phone out, making Patton smile and give the rest of the song his all. Logan had noticed a few moments later, and winked at a guy who was ogling him, earning a laugh from Roman who was looking at Logan at the time. Virgil noticed well after the rest of the group and flushed, looking back down at his guitar quickly.

Patton turned back to the three behind him with a smile as they played the last few notes, catching Roman's eye; the two of them shared proud smiles as the three played the last note together. 

A small group of cheers came from the people outside the garage. Patton turned back around and shouted back a thank you. Roman bowed as best he could with a bass in his arms, Virgil smiled a bit and waved, and Logan put up a drumstick and shook it from side to side.

“What's your band name?!” A person called from across the lot.

“ _ Several Sides _ !” Roman shouted back.

“Is it okay if we post this?!” The person who was recording swung their phone from side to side. The four looked around at each other before silently making a decision. 

“Sure, just credit our SoundCloud, same name!” Patton said before turning back around. The group behind them yelled a thanks before getting in their car. 

“Oh my god, oh my god, that was so surreal,” Patton babbled, Roman happily chattering with Patton. Virgil smiled and messed with the neck of his guitar. Logan was smiling at Roman and Patton’s excitement and tapped the sticks against his leg. After about three minutes before Virgil coughed, interrupting Patton and Roman. 

“I’m sorry I just think we should keep going. If we were good enough to draw a small crowd, why not try to get better to draw a bigger one.” Virgil offered, awkwardly playing with a string. Roman nodded excitedly.    
“So what do you want to try next?” Logan asked, sitting up. The four played for a little over an hour before taking a break. Even then they couldn’t stop talking about music. This was definitely going to be a fun adventure for the four of them.


	9. Triumphs and Realizations (Ch.8)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Request: "A chapter where the main singer has to quit coffee cuz it messes up the quality of the singing"  
> (^On Wattpad)  
> TW: Cursing, Headaches, Medical Drugs/Pills, Spoilers For Inception (The Movie), Food Mention  
> Song:  
> https://youtu.be/nky4me4NP70  
> twenty one pilots: Tear In My Heart [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

“I’ll get one venti iced coffee with three pumps of vanilla,” Patton ordered, before turning to Logan who was next.

“Just a grande misto.” Roman was next.

“Trenta blueberry black tea lemonade.” Then Virgil.

“White hot chocolate please.” Logan offered and paid for their drinks before the four sat down at a table in the corner to chat. They’d been doing this every wednesday for the past few weeks. Meet up at Starbucks, order, talk about band, talk about life. It was simple and a nice routine that they were all thankful for. 

Patton sipped at his coffee before looking up to listen to the conversation as his name was said.

“You should really cut down on your coffee intake Patton. Nothing against you or your visual figure, it’s just that it can have terrible effects on your vocal chords.” Logan said casually, sipping his own coffee. 

“What do you mean?” Patton asked.

“Basically if you drink coffee too often it can fuck up your voice,” Roman explained, getting lightly elbowed by Virgil in response.

“Really?! Jease, I would always drink coffee before we recorded,” Patton muttered under his breath. Virgil raised his eyebrow.

“Seriously? I couldn’t tell, do you drink water after or maybe just watered down coffee?”

“I have no clue, Roman makes it.”

“I make it with water.”

“Absolute blasphemy,” Virgil commented, earning a laugh from Roman.

“But seriously, if we’re really going to try to make this a thing, you have to at least cut down and, honestly for the best outcome, quit.” Logan explained. Patton whined and put his drink down.

“But coffee is so good!”    
“I can always make tea. I’m way better at tea.” Roman reasoned. Patton sighed and smiled a bit.   
“Well, guess this is one of my last cups of coffee. Cheers my friends,” Patton lifted his cup and tapped it against the other three’s, earning small laughs and small cheers.

**_*~*_ **

“ _Roman!”_ Patton called from the couch in their living room, groaning quietly at the feeling of his splitting headache. “Do you know where the Advil is?” 

“It’s in the kitchen, why?” Roman called from his room.

“Can you get me two pills and some water, I have a killer headache.” Roman’s footsteps echoed too loudly around the apartment as he walked to the kitchen and got what Patton needed. About a minute later, Roman walked into the living room and handed Patton his medicine. Patton sat up and muttered a thank you before downing the pills and water and laying back down.

“Do you want me to get you anything else? A blanket? Want me to put on a quiet movie?  _ Winnie the Pooh _ ?” Roman asked. Patton nodded and turned so his head was against the couch cushions. Roman frowned slightly before quickly moving to get everything set up for Patton.    
**_*~*_ **

“Hello Patton, how are you?” Logan asked as he walked into the office building. Patton shrugged and leaned against his hand, blinking blankly at the screen in front of him. Logan frowned a bit before taking a bag and a drink out from behind him. 

“Roman informed me that you haven’t been feeling well after not drinking coffee for a while so I got you a few things to hopefully make you feel better.” Patton looked up and smiled at Logan who was now holding a small treat bag and a- clearly very sweet- iced tea.

“Thank you so much Logan,” Patton said, taking the presents from him and placing them on his desk. “I assume you’re here to see Emile?”

“As always.”

“Go take a seat and I’ll get word to them. They’re on break for now-”

“With their boyfriend? Yeah I figured, tell them to take their time.” Patton’s smile brightened at Logan’s kindness before he nodded and started typing an email.

**_*~*_ **

A knock came from Patton and Roman’s apartment door. Logan was already there debating with Roman about something Patton didn’t quite understand in the living room, so he assumed it was Virgil.

“Hi! I’m glad you could make it, did you have to cut hours?” Patton asked, leading Virgil in. Virgil took off his jacket and hung it on the nearby hanger, smiling at the warmth of the apartment that was a nice change from the cold fall chill.

“No, we closed early today for renovations anyway,” Virgil shrugged, walking with Patton to the living room.

“I mean  _ clearly _ Cobb is out of the dream world! He deserved a happy ending anyway!” Roman argued with Logan.

“But he  _ watched _ his wife die in front of him  _ and _ his kids are in a totally different location at the time of the dream!” Patton and Virgil chucked at the two arguing.   
“Guys, Virgil’s here,” Patton announced, making Logan and Roman look at them from the livingroom floor. 

“Finally! What pizza do you want?” Roman asked, throwing his hands up dramatically. Logan waved and said a quick hello.

“I’m cool with either plain cheese or pepperoni,” Virgil said.

“Ha! I told you I’d be able to share with Virgil!” Patton said, pointing at Roman who rolled his eyes with a smile before he typed into his phone. Virgil and Patton joined the other two on the floor, the four of them chatting about movies and deciding on something to watch later that night; it would be a sleepover.

Roman ordered pizza after a bit of debate whether or not they should get cheese bread- which of course they did. Logan got up and got the pizza because no one else wanted to and the ‘nose goes’ rule, which Logan found silly.

**_*~*_ **

“So it’s been how many months since you quit coffee?” Roman asked, taking a bite of his slice of pizza. Patton took a moment to finish his bite before responding.

“Two months,” He took another bite. Virgil cheered quietly and took a sip of his soda _. _

“Nice job man! ‘M proud of you,” Virgil said, elbowing Patton softly before putting his drink down and taking a bite of his food. Logan smiled at Patton and took a sip of his water. 

“I have to say, I’m quite impressed. You’ve done a great job at practicing self-restraint. Have you been drinking those teas that I suggested?” Logan asked. Patton nodded quickly.

“Yes! All of the teas were so good! Thank you for sending me that list.” Patton said before drinking some of his water. Logan sent a nod to Patton before looking at the TV which was playing  _ The Princess Bride _ .

Patton looked around the room at the people he now called his friends. He sighed happily and leaned his back against the couch.  _ He  _ loved _ his new friends _ …  **_Shit_ ** .


	10. "Wow" (Ch.9)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Reference To Alcohol, Mention Of Fainting, Nervousness, Anxiety, Cursing, Mention Of Drugs (In Song)  
> Song:  
> https://youtu.be/XPpTgCho5ZA  
> Maroon 5 - This Love (Closed Captioned)

It was a mess. Roman paced as music blasted from the stage of _Ijaac’s Bar and Bounty_. Virgil was sitting in a chair nearby trying to swallow the urge to get hammered before going on stage. Patton was trying to calm down Roman, while also very anxious himself. And Logan was just sipping his water, trying to ignore the world around him.

It had been four months since _Several Sides_ all got together and they had finally decided to do a show. Of course it was a local talent show but hey, you settle with what you have. They had already decided on a song and practiced it countless times; mostly thanks to both Virgil and Roman rambling about possibly messing up on stage. Patton helped all of them pick their clothes- with input of course- and Logan helped everyone warm up before they even arrived. By all means they were going to do fine. Yet, here they were.

“Hey, you four, you’re _Several Sides_ , right?” Asked a guy with a clipboard, quickly catching the whole group's attention. Logan cleared his throat and nodded. “You’re on after this next guy, okay? Don’t worry too much, before any of you got here a 23 year old came on stage and sung a _really shitty_ version of _I Wanna Dance With Somebody_ . It won’t get _any_ worse than that.” He laughed.

“Yeah, so just drink some water and if you need a minute to tune or warm up, there’s a room in the back. Break a leg you four,” The guy smiled before walking away, leaving them momentarily stunned. After a few seconds Roman started pacing again, making the other three sigh.

“Roman, sit down and drink your water. If you pace like that, you’re gonna pass out on stage. Patton, you need to drink something or your throat is going to dry significantly. Virgil… You just keep doing what you’re doing okay?” Logan said, picking up one of his sticks and tapping it lightly on his thigh. Roman sat down with a huff and started to drink his water.

“So we’re still doing _Maroon 5_ right?” Patton asked, getting a nod from the rest of the table. “Okay.” Silence… “Are you guys gonna take off your jackets before we go on?” More nods. Silence. The shitty comedy routine on stage wasn’t exactly helping either. “I’m so sorry, it’s just, it’s so quiet-”

“Patton it’s fine, you can ramble. Honestly, I think that we’d prefer if you did,” Roman said, earning another round of nods, this time a bit more frantic. Patton muttered an okay before moving on to rambling about a new show he had recently picked up. They eventually moved to the side stage during the conversation but honestly it was just a blur.

Before the four of them knew it, they were only seconds from going on stage- the only thing delaying them was the setup. Patton was holding Roman’s hand, both to ground him and keep Roman from pacing, and Logan and Virgil were trying to distract themselves with Rock-Paper-Scissors. Roman and Virgil had their instruments on their backs.The guy with the clipboard came back and nodded to them with a smile as the bar owner introduced them.

“This next group will be playing and performing _This Love_ by _Maroon 5._ Give it up for _Several Sides_ ,” The owner smiled and gestured to where the four were now walking on stage, Virgil and Roman holding their instruments and Logan twirling a drumstick absent-mindedly. A few whoops and cheers came from the bar and restaurant before it was filled with quiet conversation; a whistle came from a few drunk girls up front but the four just laughed it off.

Patton took the mic off its stand and took a deep breath before looking around at his friends. The three smiled and nodded, Logan gesturing lightly for Patton to talk. 

“Oh, yeah,” Patton muttered, getting a small giggle from the floor, “I’m Patton, this is Roman, Logan, and Virgil. We hope you’ve been having a good night and that you enjoy the song we’re gonna play. And uh, yeah.” Patton chuckled nervously and looked back to Logan. 

Logan nodded, tapping the beat on his lap before bringing his sticks up. Virgil, Logan, and Roman took a deep breath before Logan counted down and all three entered at once. Patton noticed how quickly the restaurant grew quiet to hear them, a cheer here and there interrupting the stunned stillness. Patton breathed before singing.

 _“I was so high, I did not recognize the fire burning in her eyes. The chaos that controlled my mind,”_ A louder cheer came from the bar. Patton smiled, loosening up a bit and letting himself finally have fun. Virgil watched with a fond smile as Patton sung the chorus, walking around the stage, locking eyes with Roman who nodded in turn, earning a small smirk. Logan looked between the two confused before shaking his head. 

_“I’ll fix these broken things, repair your broken wings, and make sure everything is alright, alright,”_ Virgil couldn’t help the small smile on his face as he looked at Patton dancing around slightly and belting the song like he wrote it. 

When Patton turned around and looked at the band, somehow making gleeful eye contact with Virgil. Virgil returned Patton’s smile before looking down at his guitar, but his attention was once again caught by Roman who managed to walk over and wink at him before starting to play a little louder to be heard. Logan looked up from his drums and at the small crowd they had locked onto the stage _._

Virgil managed to space out a bit and he almost forgot to play before Patton’s voice reminded him that, _oh yeah,_ _I should be paying attention to what I’m doing._ Lucky for him, it was the end of the song. The three still playing strummed (or in Logan’s case, drummed) their last bars before ending abruptly. 

It was quiet. But only for a moment. Then it was loud. Actually it was _very_ _loud_. The room broke quickly into loud cheers and applause, stunning the four on stage. A quiet mumble from Logan pretty much summed up their reactions.

_“Wow…”_


	11. A Small Celebration (Ch.10)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Alcohol, Alcoholic Tendencies, Intoxication, Cursing  
> Song:  
> https://youtu.be/_e2igZexpMs  
> West Side Story - America

The four sat at the bar, drinking lightly (well most of them) and chatting about the performance. Patton and Roman were excitedly rambling to each other and Logan let in input every once in a while. Virgil was watching them talk, trying to work out his thoughts; he found it kinda hard but of course he decided to do it drunk so there wasn’t much hope in the first place.

Remy walked up from behind the bar and gave Virgil a bowl of chips before turning to the other three with a smile.

“That was a really good show! Patton, you did a great job singing,” Remy said, mixing a drink while talking. Patton froze and looked at Remy. 

“Wait hold on how do you know my name?” Patton asked. Remy laughed and put the drink down.

“I’m  _ Remy _ , the same one from  _ Cauchon’s _ . Ya’ know Emile’s boyfriend,” Remy teased, laughing when Patton physically facepalmed. “I’m surprised you didn’t recognise me sooner.”

“Well, in my defense, I was drunk that night and you know I’m not very good at faces.” Remy and Patton talked for a bit while Logan, Roman, and Virgil talked about what they’d do later.

“Virgil, if you want to come over, I’m sorry but you kinda have to hit the brakes on drinking for tonight. We have a,” Roman coughed, “ _ fake _ , policy that you can’t go into Patton and I’s apartment when, uh… incapacitated?” Roman looked at Logan for confirmation, to which he nodded. 

_ “Fine!” _ Virgil whined, downing the rest of his drink before putting it on the bar and putting his hands up. “I’m done for the night, do I get to stay over now?”

“Yes.”

“Yayy!” Virgil cheered sarcastically before picking up a chip and eating. Logan shook his head fondly and Roman was telling Patton about Logan and Virgil staying over.  _ God damn it, I’m  _ not _ in the mood to be sober right now, _ Virgil internally grumbled before turning and glaring at the chip in his hand.

“What’d the chip do to you to make you hate it so much?” Patton asked. He gasped quietly before giggling and reaching over to pick up one of Virgil’s chips, placing it on his shoulder. “So you have a chip on your shoulder?” Virgil started giggling before shaking his head.

“You’re a dork.”

**_*~*_ **

Virgil was  _ very  _ close to passing out. I mean so was Roman, but Virgil was more drunk which definitely fueled his exhaustion. Logan and Patton had decided on watching  _ West Side Story _ . Of course Roman and Patton were quietly singing along, which Virgil honestly found  _ far _ too calming to be allowed. 

Logan was sitting on the couch above where Virgil was on the floor and it took  _ all  _ of his will  _ not _ to lay against his leg and fall asleep. Unfortunately, of course he did.  _ The drunk bastard. _

**_*~*_ **

Patton smiled at, watching Virgil sleep in a totally not creepy way. Roman leaned against Patton’s side from where they sat on the couch, making Patton blush lightly. Logan was half-asleep, leaning against the arm of the couch with his eyes drooping as he fought to stay awake. Patton found it adorable. 

Patton let out a quiet sigh and took a long blink before letting himself fall asleep. __


	12. Sleepover! (Ch.11)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Request: "A chapter where the four have a sleepover the night before a gig."  
> TW: Food Mention, Cursing, Mention Of Fire (In Context Of Story/Joke), Brief Mention Of Crying, Talk Of Sexualities, The Word 'Queer' In Context Of Sexuality (Used By Member Of LGBTQ+; Reclaimed Version Of Word)  
> Song:  
> https://youtu.be/0VG1bj4Lj1Q  
> A Great Big World - "Everyone Is Gay"

It had been about three months since their first gig. At least Patton called it a gig, Logan didn't quite agree but he wasn't about to argue about it. The four of them had played a few other shows but there weren’t many openings. When they did manage to land a show though, like this week, actually it was the next day. Well, they developed a tradition. 

They would have a sleepover! They wouldn’t do anything big, just a few blankets, a movie, and some form of takeout. Patton was the one who brought it up one night and the rest of them just agreed because who could say no to that excitement?

**_*~*_ **

“Virgil I swear to god if you burn the popcorn,” Roman began, only to get hushed by Virgil.

“I won’t. Have I ever burnt it before?”

“No but you still are able to.”

“Mhm okay Mr. I-don’t-want-to-do-it-because-I’ll-mess-it-up, why don’t you get over your little fear and do it?”

“Roman’s banned from microwaving popcorn ever since the incident when we first moved in.” Patton called from the living room where he and Logan were setting up the couch. 

“Ha! Did you start a fire?” Virgil teased, putting the packet in the microwave and starting it. 

“No I did  _ not _ ! I just burned it… a bit…”

“Most of the popcorn was blackened,” Patton yelled once again, earning a laugh from Virgil and Logan and causing Roman to pout. 

**_*~*_ **

“All I’m saying is the live action  _ Alice In Wonderland _ was an atrocity of a film.” Logan said, sipping at some warm tea. Virgil threw his hands up with a smile.

_ “Thank you!” _ He yelled, getting a laugh from the three in the room; even if Roman  _ highly  _ disagreed.

“Okay but can we all at least agree that  _ Fox In The Hound  _ is a classic?” Roman asked, curled up with a box of Chinese food in front of him. He was met with three enthusiastic agreements. 

“I mean, the ending is really sad, but I love the story!” Patton said with a smile. Roman looked over at Patton with a raised eyebrow.

“I thought you said you’d never watch it again because it made you cr-”

“Aaaaaand you’re gonna stop talking there.” Patton interrupted. Logan let out a huff of laughter and looked over to where Virgil was picking at his food with a smile and a spaced out look.   
“So any ideas on what to watch?” Logan asked, making Virgil’s head slowly move up.

“... Are you asking me?” He asked, pointing to himself. Logan nodded and shifted to look at Virgil. “Oh uh… Maybe? Uh, what do you think about  _ Sharkboy and Lavagirl _ ?” Nervous energy practically radiated from Virgil as he tried to make up a movie on the spot. Logan smiled softly and turned to look at Roman and Patton who were having a short debate about sad movies.

“Are either of you interested in watching  _ Sharkboy and Lavagirl _ ?” Logan asked for Virgil, making the two arguing turn their heads and nod excitedly. Virgil visibly relaxed and Roman opened up Netflix so they could watch the movie.    
**_*~*_ **

“Hey Patton?” Roman asked halfway through the movie, getting elbowed lightly by Logan who he stuck out his tongue at. Patton looked over to Roman with a quietly raised eyebrow. “How hot did you think Sharkboy was as a kid?” Logan choked on his drink,  _ they never talked about their sexualities. _

“I thought he was a ten out of ten, total gay awakening.” Patton said with a smirk, forgetting about the other people in the room. Roman nodded.   
“And Lavagirl?”

“Not my type.”

“Ah, I see. Well I was just bi panic all around so-”

“Guys, you do know we’re still here right?” Virgil chuckled from his spot on the floor.

“Oh shit- uh…  _ Surprise, _ we’re queer!” Roman giggled nervously and Patton just malfunctioned. Logan looked at Virgil and shrugged.

“I’m actually gay myself.”

_ “What?!”  _ Patton exclaimed. The man was  _ ecstatic.  _

“Yeah, I’m queer too.” Virgil shrugged.  _ How the hell did I get so lucky?! _

“Well damn, we’re just a band of queers.” Roman muttered before the four of them quietly started focusing on the screen. Patton quietly buzzed with excitement. Little did he know, so was Roman.


	13. Oblivious Artists (Ch.12)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Request: "A chapter where two of the band members have a side gig."  
> TW: Alcohol, Food/Drink Mention, Cursing, Intoxication, Mention Of Heavy Intoxication  
> Song:  
> https://youtu.be/qYA6Yo8TSz0  
> Counting Stars-OneRepublic (cover)

“Hey Lo, you know how to play piano right?” Virgil asked while strumming his guitar quietly. Roman and Patton were out getting ice. Logan looked up from his laptop and moved a side of his headphones off his ear, nodding quietly. “Do you wanna write a song together? Nothing big just like a short little toe tapper or something.” 

Logan seemed to consider it for a second before nodding and going back to work.

“What kind of song are we talking about here? Like a love song?” Logan asked while clicking a few keys. Virgil smiled a bit and started strumming. A soft chord echoed quietly through the garage, making Logan look up again.

“That’s all I’ve got,” Virgil muttered before strumming a few more times, unsatisfied with the unfinished melody, “It  _ could _ be a love song but uh, that’s really up to you.” Logan sighed.

“Virgil, I don’t know jackshit about writing lyrics. I can write music just fine but lyrics just don’t really come to me you know?” Logan tried to explain. Virgil looked at him for a moment before nodding and looking back down.

“I’m gonna try to get a solo or something laid out. We can write lyrics later.” Virgil looked back down at his guitar. Logan smiled and looked back at the screen. 

**_*~*_ **

Virgil chuckled and lifted his tea.

“I mean, are you sure about these lyrics?  _ Seek it out and ye should find _ ?” He took a sip of his drink, “And are you sure about a love song? I mean we do love songs a lot yeah, but the whole ‘money can’t buy happiness’ thing mixed in with a love song?” Logan nodded and smiled. 

“Well we’ve already wrote the lyrics  _ and _ the song. It’s not like we can go back now,” Logan joked. Virgil smiled and shook his head before looking back down at the paper in front of them.

“So when do you wanna do this?”

“Maybe this weekend. There’s a show at  _ Stratman’s  _ we can play. That is if your schedule is clear.”   
“Depends, is the show past seven?”

“It starts at eight.”

“Then hell yeah.”

**_*~*_ **

Patton and Roman sat quietly in the small crowd of the bar, whispering to each other as to not interrupt the act.

“Do you think they're gonna do the thing?” Patton asked, making Roman raise an eyebrow

“What thing?”

“The thing where they give each other that… Look? The kinda chaotic or cocky smirk they do with us during performances and practices.”

“Oh thank god, I thought I was the only one that noticed it,” Roman chuckled. Patton smiled and took a sip of his drink- a spiked pink lemonade. The floor in front of the stage echoed with laughter and light applause as the actually good standup routine came to a close, the guy waving as he walked off. The announcer came on to the stage and chuckled a bit before talking into the mic.

“This next pair are band mates that decided to write a song especially for this so give a clap for Virgil and Logan!” Virgil walked on to the small stage with his acoustic guitar and Logan followed close behind before sitting himself at the keyboard on stage. Patton and Roman turned their bodies all the way around and waved at the stage, getting a cheerful glance from their friends.

“Hello everyone! I'm Logan, this is Virgil. We're going to be playing a song called  _ Counting Stars.  _ We legitimately have no clue what genre this song is in so let's just say it's pop.” The floor chuckled a bit before Logan waved a little and Virgil sat down on a stool and adjusted his hold on his guitar before nodding.

Logan tapped his foot slowly before reaching the right beat then counted down until the two of them entered at once.

_ “Lately I've been, I've been losing sleep. Thinking about the things that we could be.”  _ Virgil sung, strumming softly. Patton's eyes widened a bit as well as Roman's. They of course knew he could sing but they didn't know he could  _ sing sing _ .

_ “Lately I've been, I've been praying hard. Said no more counting dollars we'll be counting stars,”  _ Virgil looked up at Logan.

_ “We'll be counting stars,” _ They sang together. Roman almost fell out of his chair. Virgil continued to play and sing until Logan got his own solo, Virgil looking up for another moment while playing to watch him sing.

_ “Take that money and watch it burn, sink in the river the lessons I learned. Take that money and watch it burn, sink in the river the lessons are learned.”  _ Patton was absolutely mesmerized- as was Roman. And apparently several other people in the crowd; but those were mainly college girls.

Logan and Virgil sung the last part together, slowing down the song before ending and basking in the stunned silence that they've grown oh so accustomed to. As they hoped- and honestly somewhat expected- the floor and the bar broke out into cheers. They were fairly quiet but they didn't expect too much- especially when Roman and Patton were doing most of the clapping and cheering. 

“Thank you!” Virgil said with a bright grin, waving at Roman and Patton.

Logan looked over to Virgil and smiled at his prideful expression before he turned back and smiled at Logan as well. A small blush crossed Logan's cheeks before he stood up and waved a bit before gesturing for Virgil to follow him down so they could go sit at the bar.

**_*~*_ **

Okay maybe Virgil was a bit drunk. At this point it was rare for the other three to see him not drunk at a bar. But they did have to say that he earned it this time. Logan laughed with Patton as he gushed about the music and their singing. Roman was talking to Virgil about the guitar parts and playfully scolding him for not sharing with the group that he could sing.

“I sung at my audition, yeah?” Virgil asked before taking a gulp of his beer. Roman threw his hands up in irritation.

“Yes but that isn't the  _ same _ ! You never told us you could  _ solo  _ like that!” Roman ranted passionately. Virgil giggled and shook his head before looking back down at the bar.

Maybe his expression faltered. Maybe he forgot he couldn't get too intoxicated. Maybe the rule of the apartment and intoxication was broken just that day. But Virgil definitely got his ear talked off by Logan in the morning about watching how much he drinks. ****


	14. Mr. Sanders (Ch.13)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Cursing, Alcohol, Brief/Mild Anxiety; Nothing Too Bad  
> Song:  
> https://youtu.be/Nv2XRdXmjMo

“That was one of my favorites,” Patton laughed as they walked off stage. Logan nodded and put his sticks in his backpack, “How long did that take you to write?”

“Like three weeks.” Roman groaned, carrying his case close to his side as they walked towards the exit, Virgil close behind. They learned the hard way that it was a good idea to put their instruments in the car before they started to hang out. “We'll be back in a minute!”

**_*~*_ **

“So, do you have any ideas?” Roman asked, opening the trunk of his car.

“For what? A song?” Virgil put his guitar in the very back of the trunk and stepping to the side for Roman.

“Yeah, what else would I be talking about?” Roman chuckled. Virgil shrugged and leaned against the car, taking out his phone for a second.

“I actually do have a few ideas. They're only concepts right now- mainly just choruses and a few verses.” He pressed a button and a few seconds of guitar played. Roman looked up with raised eyebrows.

“That sounded really good. You should talk to Patton about writing a song with him. He really likes sounds like that.” Roman suggested with a smile, making Virgil's cheeks turn a light shade of pink. Virgil put his phone back in his pocket.

“Uh, thanks. Yeah, I'll try to remember to do that.”

**_*~*_ **

When the two walked back into the bar, the first thing they noticed was how Logan and Patton were standing at the bar. The next thing they noticed was that there was this fairly formal looking fella talking to them.

Roman and Virgil rushed over and stood next to the other two, managing to catch the end of what the man said.

“-and I was just wondering if you maybe were interested in a deal of sorts,” he finished, looking over at Virgil and Roman towards the end. “Oh! Hello, my name is Thomas Sanders. You can call me Thomas if you want.” He extended his hand for a handshake. Virgil just stared at it until Roman shook his hand.

“Thomas here was just talking about a possible record deal that he's willing to do.” Logan explained, shifting on the barstool. Virgil raised an eyebrow and looked at Thomas.

“Why us? Not that I'm complaining exactly.” Virgil asked, staring Thomas down in a way that made the man squirm uncomfortably. Virgil had seen movies, he wasn't about to hand over his career- _I career when this is basically a hobby._

“You four have become a kind of phenomenon with agents. Your music has really blown up online- jesus I sound like a boomer,” Thomas interrupted himself, earning a laugh from Patton, “A lot of videos have surfaced online of you guys performing and- while I don't want to sound like a classic bad record deal guy from some sorta teen drama movie- I wanted to be the first to get to you.

“I'm not saying I'm the _best_ out there because in all honesty I'm not, but from who I've met and what I've seen, I'm one of the nicest- at least when it comes to contracting. If you don’t want to sign with me, which I can completely understand, I would like to at least offer some advice when it comes to contracts with other people.” Thomas explained, Logan nodding along. Roman and Patton were pretty lost. Virgil was trying to put pieces together. 

“So what you’re saying is that you think we need an agent because we’re apparently getting ‘big in the media’?” Virgil brought his hands up for air quotes. Thomas nodded and continued to explain.

**_*~*_ **

“If you need any more information here’s my card. Please consider thought and have a good night,” Thomas handed Logan a card and waved the other three goodbye before walking out. The four went quiet as they watched the door close behind Thomas. Virgil let out a low whistle before sitting down in the stool next to Logan. 

“Wow, that’s just- wow,” Virgil muttered before calling over the bartender. Logan looked at Virgil before nodding slowly. 

“I never really saw _that_ coming,” Patton chuckled and leaned against the bar, Roman nodding in agreement before the two started rambling to each other. Virgil smiled as his drink was put in front of him. He held up a hand to Logan before drinking some of it and taking a breath.

“This is the only thing alcoholic I’ll drink tonight if that makes you feel better,” Virgil shook his drink from side to side. Logan raised an eyebrow and turned slightly to face Virgil.

“Not to be a downer, but you really need to cut back on drinking,” Logan commented, rubbing his hands together anxiously, “it's not healthy.” Virgil blinked at Logan for a few seconds before shaking his head and looked forward.

“I've survived this long.” 

“That's not the point Virgil.”

“What are you two talking about?” Patton asked, looking at Logan with a slightly tilted head. Virgil stared at Logan- as if silently daring him to tell. Logan broke eye contact and turned to Patton.

“Don't worry about it. Now, do you guys want to talk about what just happened _here_ or at yours?” Logan asked, changing the subject. Virgil smiled a bit before shifting his eyes to Patton as well.

“I mean, I think it would be more comfortable if we talked at the apartment. We can go when Virgil's done with his drink- take your time though okay?” Patton smiled at Virgil who looked away sheepishly before taking a long sip of his drink.

The alcohol burned- it always did. Virgil was used to it; actually he thought it was pretty pleasant. A way to distract him from his thoughts. Well shit, _now_ he’s thinking about it. Virgil groaned and smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. Roman looked over and raised an eyebrow.

“What’s wrong hot topic?” Roman asked, leaning on the bar in order to see him better. Virgil squeezed his eyes shut before opening them and blinking for a few moments. Slowly, he nodded. 

“Yeah just got a bit lost,” Virgil finished his drink and pulled out his phone to check the time, noticing there was a message from Remy. _I’ll respond later,_ he thought before closing his phone and putting it back in his pocket. “We should get going, traffic’s gonna build up- that one concert is finishing up in like ten minutes.” Patton raised an eyebrow.

“There was a concert tonight?” He asked, shifting to face Virgil.

“Yeah, this cool indie band’s playing at the night market a few miles away. _Honeysuckle Ivy.”_ Logan’s eyes widened and his leg bounced a bit.

“I didn’t know they were playing a show!” 

“You’re a big fan I’m guessing?” Roman laughed. Logan turned to Roman and nodded excitedly. “Their drummer is really cool!” Logan gushed, clearly holding back from rambling. Patton chuckled a bit and stood up, taking Logan’s bag off the floor. 

“Do you want the aux cord on the way to the apartment?” He offered. Roman got out of his chair and took the keys out of his pocket. Logan blushed a bit before getting off his stool.

“No it’s fine, don’t worry about it. We should probably talk about what Thomas said on the way,” Logan tried to reason.

“We can always just talk about it when we get there.” Roman argued. Virgil watched the two go back and forth before for a moment calling over the bartender and handing his card over to pay.


	15. Turn It Off (Ch.14)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Cursing, Anger, Implied Crying, Implied Past Relationship, Mention Of Janus, Mention Of Remus, (In Song Lyrics- Skippable) Suicidal Implications  
> Song:  
> https://youtu.be/wRFLvrBHI0E  
> Badflower - Ghost

The four shuffled into the car, Roman driving, Logan sitting shotgun, and Patton and Virgil in the backseat. Roman passed the aux cord to Logan and turned on the car, waiting for everyone to get settled.

“Just play whatever songs you want.” Roman said before putting the car in reverse and starting the long drive-  _ why did we have to pick a spot so far from the apartment? _ Logan smiled and quietly thanked Roman before plugging in the aux and pressing a few buttons.

Virgil leaned slightly against Patton in the back seat, both of them clearly tired- no, exhausted after performing and having that talk with Thomas. Roman looked back for a moment and smiled at Virgil's slightly dazed look and Patton's droopy eyes.

Suddenly, a quiet beat of drums filled the car. Roman smiled and turned the volume up, listening to the band Logan was so excited about. 

It was good. _Really_ good actually. But also just so _familiar._ _Where has he heard this voice?_ Roman tapped his hand against the wheel and made a turn onto the freeway. Logan was quietly humming along, tapping his hands on his legs and flicking his wrist with the drums. 

_ “Like a Jester at the ball, rub my shoulders with the king's,”  _ The singer opened, a quiet instrumental in the background. 

_ “And I was draped in gold and velvet, bathing in applause while I was jumping through the rings.” _

Virgil smiled a bit and closed his eyes for a moment.  _ It couldn't hurt to rest a second.  _ Patton did the same, leaning his head against the headrest. A few songs in, Roman glanced at Logan and looked back at the road, trying to decide whether or not to ask.  _ Fuck it, why not? _

“Hey Logan, who're the band members?” Roman asked, changing lanes. “They just sound  _ really  _ familiar.” Logan looked at Roman for a moment before raising an eyebrow.

_ “I tried it once before, but I didn't get too far,” _

“I didn't take you for a dubstep guy Roman,” Logan started, imminently confusing Roman, “Their drummer, Remus, did dubstep for a  _ long time _ before teaming up with Janus.” Roman's blood ran cold.  _ No. _

_ “I felt a lot of pain but it didn't stop my heart.” _

“Turn it off.”

_ “And all I was for someone to give a little fuck,” _

“What?” Logan asked, picking up his phone from next to him. Roman tightened his grip on the wheel.

_ “But I waited here forever and nobody even looked up,” _

“I said  _ turn it off,  _ did you not understand me the first time?” Roman asked, visibly tense. The two in the back now wide awake and looking between Roman and Logan worriedly. Logan unplugged his phone and plugged in some headphones.

_ “I tried it once before and I think I-,”  _ The music stopped.

“Can I ask why you had a sudden change in heart?” Logan questioned, putting an earbud in. Roman kept his eyes on the road, a silence filling the car; no one dared to touch the radio, not wanting to mess with Roman. He looked about as angry as he felt.  _ He shouldn't feel this angry, it was a long time ago. _

“No.” Roman said simply, his knuckles now white, contrasting his tan skin. Logan shifted uncomfortably before pressing play on his own music. Virgil moved away from Patton and Patton leaned towards where Roman was sitting.

It was a long 30 minutes back to the apartment.

**_*~*_ **

Roman slammed open the apartment door, leaving it open for his friends while not so gracefully stomping into the living room. Virgil shuffled in carrying his guitar, Logan following him and Patton closing the door with his foot while carrying Logan’s bag and Roman's bass.

“Roman, what's wrong?” Patton asked, putting the luggage on the floor. Roman didn't stop walking. Patton sighed and drifted closer to Roman, putting a hand on his shoulder only to get pushed off. Virgil locked eyes with Logan, now completely sober and worried for their friend.

“You three just- do whatever. I'm going to bed.” Roman muttered, taking out his phone and walking into a room.

“But shouldn't we talk about what Thomas-” Virgil got interrupted by Roman.

“We can talk tomorrow okay? I'm tired.” Roman slammed his door, making Logan flinch slightly before shifting from foot to foot.

Patton let out a long sigh before running a hand through his hair and looking at the other two in the room. Virgil was looking at Roman's door like it was the most interesting thing in the room and Logan was not so subtly turning up his music, the sound almost audible to Virgil who was only a few feet away.

“I'm sorry about that, it happens sometimes. It's nothing big, don't go blaming yourself Logan,” Patton assured, taking a step towards the two, “How about we put on a movie and make some frozen pizza bites or something?” He offered. Virgil looked to Logan before turning back to Patton.

“Yeah I'm okay with that.” It went quiet. 

“Logan?” Patton asked, taking another step forward. Logan looked really zoned out. Virgil slowly moved a hand towards Logan and shook his shoulder lightly, making him jump harshly.

“What? Sorry I was uh- sorry.” Logan apologized, snapping back into reality. 

“I asked if you wanted to have pizza bites for dinner? I know it's not nutritious but it's what we have.” Patton joked, trying to lighten the mood. Logan processed Patton's words slowly before nodding.

“Yes, yes that sounds good.” Virgil frowned and carefully grabbed Logan's arm, tugging him over to the couch. Patton watched the two leave go sit on the couch before walking over to the kitchen to start dinner. As soon as he reached the kitchen he put his arms on the countertop and bent over to put his head in his hands.  _ He hated when this happened. _

**_*~*_ **

_ “Roman! Roman! Take a picture!” Janus called, waving at Roman who turned the camera towards them. Janus smiled and lifted up a handful of sea glass. Roman could he heard chuckling behind the camera, Remus’ cackling slightly louder than Roman. A group of kids ran by and threw sand at Janus who laughed and picked up one of them. _

_ “Now, now, you don't just get to treat me like that. Didn't your mom ever teach you to respect your elders?” Janus teased, the small girl in their hands giggling before squirming away. _

_ “Roman! Tell your boyfriend to stop being mean!” One of the boys whined jokingly. Roman's smirk was audible behind the camera. _

_ “Not a chance, now get over here!” The video ended on a warped screen of sand and red swimming trunks. _

Roman sniffled a bit. before swiping to the next photo, Remus, Roman, Janus, all at a fair. _ Roman should've seen it coming, it was pretty obvious it would happen. _ He swiped again, this time it was only Janus. They were asleep and clearly very peaceful.  _ Remus was better than him, and Janus deserved better. Right? _

Roman groaned quietly and put his phone down before putting his hands on his face, rubbing his eyes.

_ Enough self-pity, it's time for bed. _ Roman looked at the time,  _ 2:32 AM.  _ Oh yeah, it was far past when he planned to be awake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is the end of all my pre-written stuff and rn i'm going through a crazy writers block and really shitty phase with depression so if you want consistent updates or to get to updates first, go to my Wattpad (i also kinda explained my situation there so yeah) have a great day/afternoon/night y'all


	16. Talk About Anything (ch.15)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The four sit in the living room with tension you could cut with a knife, Virgil just wants someone to start talking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw: cursing, anxiety, very tense situations (non-violent for anger related)  
> song: none for this chapter :(

The four gazed around the living room awkwardly, trying a bit too hard to not make eye contact with each other. No one really knew how to start the conversation. Logan coughed, briefly drawing eyes to him before they went back to looking at random objects. Virgil took a deep breath before finally being the first to speak up.

"So," Virgil started glancing around the room before settling in Roman, "Do you want to talk about what happened on the way here last night?" Logan fiddled with his thumbs quietly, a pit of guilt settling in his stomach. Roman's face contorted between expressions; none of which anyone in the room could define.

"No." The room was filled with an uncomfortable quiet before Logan cleared his throat.

"So about what Thomas said," He started, gaining everyone's attention, "We should decide on what to do with his offer." No one responded. Virgil took out his phone and read Remy's text from the night before- which he had apparently forgotten about.

_Queenbitch_

_hey bitch_

_can you call Emile when you have time?_

_they want to talk to you_

Virgil looked to his right where Logan wasn't exactly hiding the fact that he was looking at his phone. Virgil raised an eyebrow before standing up.

"You guys talk; I don't even care what you talk about. If I come back and nothing has been talked about, I'm going to lose it. I have to make a call," Virgil looked to Roman who had opened his mouth to protest, " _not_ to Thomas. A friend of mine wanted me to call them.". Virgil stood quietly, staring at Roman before turning on his heel and leaving the apartment.

Roman kept his eyes on the door when Virgil left. Patton and Logan glanced at each other, accidentally catching eyes before ripping their gaze away. They all shared one thought. _This is awkward..._

* * *

_Ring... Ring... Ring... Ri-_

"Virgil! Thank you for calling me! How are you?" Emile beamed over the phone, their smile practically audible. Virgil sat quietly for a minute. He didn't know how he was. He was tired. He was scared. A little confused. He was...

"I'm doing fine. How are you?" Virgil responded with a fake smile. If you want to sell it, you have to go all out. He learned that by working customer service. Thank god and/or satan for his experience with enough Karens to deal with any customer.

"I'm going good. I was just wondering if maybe you'd be interested in coming to this concert with me and Remy. It's more of a festival honestly but we thought you might like to go." Virgil toed at the floor with his shoe, thinking for a moment.

"Could I bring my friends too if they are interested? I can pay for their tickets so don't worry about that. I just want to know if you're okay with them tagging along."

"Oh of course! The more the merrier right?" Emile cheered, waiting for Virgil to respond. "Virgil are you sure you're okay? Remy and I are always here-"

"I _know_ Emile! I mean-" Virgil pulled back from his biting tone, "I know Emile, thank you for the offer. But I'm fine. If I think I really need to talk to you, I'll call okay?"

 _"Virgil_ , we talked about this."

"Before we were friends we talked about this. Back when I had therapy. Now we're friends and I don't... I don't want to bother either of you with it." Virgil mumbled, sitting down on the floor next to the door.

"You know you don't bother us right?" Emile asked, the shuffling of papers audible in the background and then a following low rumble of Remy talking to Emile quietly. Then it was completely silent- they were on mute, they were _responding_. _They were talking about him._ Virgil panicked and started talking before his mind could process what was happening.

"Hey I'm gonna go, the band is talking about band... _stuff_. Call me if you want to talk but I'm kinda busy right now. Text me the website for the festival. Thanks bye!" Virgil rambled and hung up quickly. He stared at his home screen for a moment before sighing and hitting his head against his knees, turning to rest his cheek on the top. _I'll give them a little extra time._

* * *

The room was deafeningly quiet. Logan was trying to stir up the courage to speak up but nothing was even coming to mind. Patton was looking at Roman, trying and failing to read him. And Roman...

Roman wanted to talk about the offer. He wanted to talk about it _so much_. But he couldn't tell if this was the right time. He didn't want to force everyone to talk about it. He didn't want to make things more awkward. In an ironic way, his silence was making the room _far more awkward_ than him talking would.

"Soooo..." Patton spoke quietly, his voice only a little above a whisper. The rumble of Virgil's voice could be heard through the door. Roman looked up and made eye contact with him.

"Uh, let's just talk about something random maybe?" Roman offered.

"Sure, um, what would you want to talk about?" Logan chipped in, moving his eyes to settle finally on Roman.

"What's your favorite movie?" Roman asked, breaking the ice. Patton perked up.

"You already know I love the _Winnie The Pooh_ movies! _Oo_ I wonder if I still have those plushies you got me, they might be in my closet somewhere. I'll look for them later," Patton explained, moving his hands around slightly and making Roman smile a bit. Logan adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat a bit, a very light blush dusting his ears.

"My favorite movie is _Big Hero 6_ ," Roman raised his eyebrows.

"I didn't take you for a fan of Disney," Roman inquired. Logan fixed his hair and smiled.

"I really like the songs and everyone's hero concept is just incredible. I love the use of science and computer programming and the way that it talks about loss in a more mature way than most Disney films. The villain isn't good though. He was horribly written," Logan rambled for a few minutes. Roman and Patton watched him, listening to his every word. Both of them were surprisingly engaged in what he was saying.

When Logan finally stopped talking he looked between Roman and Patton, the blush on his ears turning a hot shade of red.

"Oh uh, sorry for ranting. I just _really_ like that movie..." Logan said awkwardly. Patton hushed him and told him that it was fine.

"I for one, can't choose a favorite movie. But I _can_ say that I _love_ Disney!" Roman joked. Patton chucked a bit, lightly elbowing Roman.

"We definitely know that. Especially considering the amount of Disney movies we own." The three laughed a bit before gliding easily into conversation. Then the door opened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao i just remembered this book was on ao3 when i was looking through my stats, i'm so sorry, you'll get the other chapter sometime during the week. oh yeah, life updates in the several months that i haven't updated this: i'm a year older, i'm in my next semester of highschool, and i'm in a relationship now. lots has happened and i hope you have all been staying safe! i care for you guys, have a great day/afternoon/night and take care of yourselves please <3!


	17. Sign On The Dotted Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> cw: contracts, slight anxiety, playful teasing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey i finally updated

"Hey sorry that took so long, we kinda got off track," Virgil lied easily, moving to sit back in his spot.

"It's no problem. How about we get back on topic?" Logan offered, now completely comfortable like everyone else in the room.

"So with Thomas' offer, we should really consider it. I mean, we haven't seen any papers quite yet so I'm not saying we should just take it immediately. But we should think about meeting to discuss terms." Logan explained, the other three nodding along quietly.

"I mean, him coming to us is better than looking for an agent." Roman said, gesturing his hand out. Virgil moved his head from side to side

"Eh, it's kind of suspicious- but then again, I've never been in a band so I don't really know what to expect out of this." Virgil chimed in, rubbing his hands together anxiously. Logan nodded in response.

"Yes, it is quite odd. But we can always ask Thomas what his contract length is and if it's completely binding. Something we need is the opportunity to back out of the deal at any given time, we don't want to just sign our souls over to him."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that happening a lot with younger artists." Patton added. Logan nodded and shifted a bit to get Thomas' card out of his pocket. The four sat quietly for a moment.

"So we're doing this?" Roman asked, lightly bouncing his foot in anticipation.

"Yeah, we're doing this," Patton said with a small smile, looking at Roman with excitement shining in his eyes, "and we're going to do great."

* * *

"Hey! Thanks for setting up the meeting, it's great to see you four." Thomas greeted, shaking each of their hands as they sat down in chairs at his desk. "so you wanted to discuss the contract?"

"Yes, we wanted to read it and we also have a few questions." Logan said. Thomas nodded and opened a drawer, taking out a small stack of papers and carefully handing it over to Logan.

"It's not very long as I don't have many restrictions, but take your time through reading it and I'll answer any questions you have."

* * *

"So that's it?" Patton asked, holding the papers in his hands and looking up at Thomas. He nodded and started to stand up.

"I'll step out and give you a moment to talk about it. Just to remind you, you don't have to make your decision today, you can take as long as you need." With that Thomas walked out of the room, closing the door behind him and talking to someone outside.

"We're taking it right?" Virgil asked after a beat. Logan looked around and couldn't see anyone about to argue.

"Yes, I guess we are," Logan smiled a bit. Virgil let out a quiet whistle and leaned back in his chair with a grin.

_ "Wow."  _ Patton chuckled a bit, Roman laughing a bit louder than him.

"Why do we always say wow when we do something we're excited about?" Patton asked, lightly elbowing Logan who sent him a short, playful glare in response. Virgil rolled his eyes before sitting up. Thomas opened the door and walked in with a smile on his face.

"Sorry that was so short. Have you made your decision? If you need more time just tell me." Thomas sat down and opened a drawer on the side of his desk. Roman looked at the other three as the corners of his lips quirked up.

"We actually already decided what we wanted to do." Roman said, making Thomas look up sharply. The room was quiet in anticipation, Roman sitting silently.

"... Well?" Thomas asked with a small smile. Logan lightly elbowed Roman, making Patton and Virgil giggle quietly- not that either would ever admit to it.

"Sorry— we decided that we would take the offer." Roman laughed at himself. Thomas' eyes sparkled as he opened a desk drawer and took out a few pens.

"Take your time in signing, tell me if you change your mind. Remember that you can back out of the deal at any time with me." The four band members looked around at each other.

"I don't think we'll need to do that any time soon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> schools been kicking my ass so updates have all been delayed for basically everything so that i can actually turn shit in this semester (i may be depressed but i'll be damned if i end this semester with a C in any class)


End file.
